RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, it's an easy way to automatically stay up to date with news and updates on your favorite websites, blogs, or news sites.
Benefits of RSS feed
Subscribing to an RSS feed has several advantages:
You'll automatically receive a notification or email when a new article is published
The content is not extensive, so you can quickly navigate and click on the article you want to read/view
You are not receiving spam, unwanted spam messages cannot be sent to a feed reader
It saves time because you no longer have to surf to the desired website and search for an article
You can easily forward or share articles on social media
What does an RSS feed look like?
If you are subscribed to an RSS feed, you will receive an email/notification when a new article is published.
When we publish a blog, our subscribers receive an email that looks like this:
What does that look like in Mailchimp?
If you're familiar with RSS feeds and Mailchimp, your top image understands, but for those who don't know what these terms mean:
*|RSSITEMS: |*: this is used to open the custom layout for individual RSS items
*|RSSITEMS:IMAGE|*: this tag shows the image defined in your RSS feed
*|RSSITEM:TITLE|*: this tag shows the title of the article you share via your RSS feed
*|RSSITEM:CONTENT_FULL|*: this tag shows the description of the article that you share via your RSS feed
*|END:RSSITEMS|*: this is used to close the custom layout for individual RSS items
You can find the full list of RSS Merge Tags here. (Not available in Dutch)
How do I share an RSS feed?
Do you want to share an RSS feed yourself via Mailchimp? Then follow the following steps.
Create your campaign
Navigate to “Automations” and click the blue “Classic Automations” link at the top
Indicate which campaign you want to send
In the case of an RSS feed: indicate “Share blog updates”
Name your campaign
Tell Mailchimp what to name Campaign and click “Start”
Configure the RSS feed
Enter your RSS feed URL.
Define when you want to send the mail.
Through “Resize RSS feed images to fit template”, Mailchimp ensures that your images are automatically resized.
Select your audience
Indicate who you want to send this mailing to
Configure the content of your mailing
Campaign name: the name of your campaign (you only see it)
Email subject: the subject of your email
Preview text: the text that gives a short introduction to your email
From name: the name of your company/website
From email address: your company's email/website
Indicate a template
Choose from Mailchimp's ready-to-use templates
Advanced: you can also code templates yourself via 'Code your own'
Design your email
First, start by placing all the content in your template
Once all the content is in your email, you can start designing
Is your email ready? First send a test email via “Preview and Test” in the top menu bar
